Olivia Rodrigo's debut album SOUR continues to rule global charts, and the young star gave her fans a peek behind the glossy curtains in OLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u, which premiered on Disney+ earlier this week. The music ingenue is new to the scene, but she's achieved milestones that few dream of in long, expansive careers, and she's only getting started.
The documentary is the right blend of music and intimacy — fans got to see a side of Rodrigo that had never been on display since her explosive fame, and even hear about love, heartbreak, ambitions, her fears, and how her magnum opus took shape in her own words. Aesthetically pleasing and with just the right depth, OLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u was a revelatory watch that revealed a lot about Olivia Rodrigo.
Her Overnight Success Happened When She Was Still In School, And It Was Almost Too Intense
The release of "driver's license" and the subsequent fame hit Olivia Rodrigo when she was still in high school: the first semester of senior year, to be precise. Her life changed in a flash as she was then invited to perform on the world's most prolific stages, and she hadn't even graduated high school yet.
While every musician yearns to reach the pinnacles of stardom that Rodrigo did, seemingly overnight, the pressure that came with it made her question if she really wanted this life for herself. She had had great Disney moments, but nothing had been like this. Once she overcame her doubts, it was obvious that she was made to be a star, caveats and all.
She Made The Call About SOUR A Week After The Release Of "Driver's License"
After her debut single blew up on the internet and radio, Rodrigo was smart about her next steps. In the documentary, she mentioned that only after a week of release, she was dead-set on making a full-length album, which was when she called her record label.
It was a daunting task, but she was determined to make an album happen, which was what resulted in the Grammy nominated SOUR, all the songs on which are certified hits. It took a year for her and producer Dan Nigro to craft their masterpiece, most of which she wrote traveling between Salt Lake City and LA.
Brutal Was Written On A Whim, In A Day
Of all the songs that the musician had penned in her Notes app or on voice notes, "brutal" was not one of them. The decision to add a new song was an instinctual one for Rodrigo, who was eager to include another "upbeat song" to her tracklisting.
Unable to find anything suitable in her material, she and Dan Nigro decided to write something completely new. While Nigro came up with a catchy hook, Rodrigo settled that she wanted the song to be called "brutal." Bouncing off of the line "God It's Brutal Out Here," the two wrote the song in just a day, and it became the opener on the album.
She Writes In A Diary
Songwriters tend to journal a lot (see: Taylor Swift), especially ones who excel at the art of perfecting an emotionally laden tune. Similarly, Olivia Rodrigo also read out passages from her diary entries that she wrote back when she was in her "driver's license" era.
It was pleasantly nostalgic to hear what was going on in the teenager's mind when she wrote what is undoubtedly one of the biggest songs in the world. She clearly draws from personal experience and her inner emotions, which were also on display in her performances in the SOUR Prom.
She Thought "Happier" Was Terrible But Her Gut Told Her To Keep Going
When Olivia Rodrigo first put out "happier" on social media, she was less than satisfied with the tune. She thought it wasn't a great song, and that she hadn't sung it well enough for it to be out yet. However, the song was great, as witnessed by the world, and it also took her several steps closer to achieving her dreams.
Despite her negative opinion of herself, she had a gut feeling to keep going ahead with the song and her work. Dan Nigro found her when he heard "happier" on the internet, and the rest is history.
She Felt Disillusioned By Being A Child Actor
Being in the spotlight is not new for Olivia Rodrigo, who has been cast in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and also appeared in a few other TV shows. Her experience as a child actor left her disillusioned as she was surrounded by yes men who complimented her when she did nothing, which made her confused about her own abilities.
Being told she was good at everything made her reach the opposite conclusion: that she actually wasn't good enough and all of her work was mediocre. She pushed herself extra hard to overcome these feelings, and only her father and producer would give her honest opinions about her work, good or bad.
She Was Afraid to Release "Deja Vu"
It's safe to say that the success of "driver's license" was unprecedented, and Olivia Rodrigo felt the burden of producing more songs of the same quality after its release. Fans wanted to know what was next, and she promptly got to work, birthing the evocative "deja vu."
Days before her label announced the impending arrival of her second single, Rodrigo was anxious and on the verge of telling them to pull the plug. She feared that the song could not match up to the caliber of "driver's license" but thankfully she didn't. The world saw that she wasn't just a one-hit-wonder.
Many Songs Had Different Lyrics
The process of every musician is distinctive but also similar in many ways. The song evolves from the day it gets written until it reaches the studio and gets made, and that happened with many Rodrigo ditties too.
Songs like "1 step forward, 3 steps back," "good 4 u," and "driver's license" initially had different lyrics from the final version. Rodrigo was seen singing the original versions on the documentary. Many of her songs were written in the throes of emotion too: "1 step forward, 3 steps back" was penned in a car on the way to Salt Lake City with her mother.
Songwriting Is Cathartic, But It Can Be Overwhelming For Her
In her own words, Rodrigo's songs are "sad, depressing," mainly because they go heavy on emotion. She translates raw emotion, mostly grief on this record, into her music which can be good for her, but also overwhelming sometimes.
It's clear that the teen's heartbreaks really stick with her, and she uses songwriting as a crutch for that. She said that when her friends can't provide her with support, she creates a friend for herself in her songs and reaches catharsis. Her devastation was channeled in her music.
She Hopes To Stay Her Innocent Self Despite The Fame
As Olivia Rodrigo rides the crests of her wave of success, she worries about the future too. She aims to write happier music in time, hoping that grief and heartbreak won't be the only fuel to create a sensational album in the coming days.
The singer also reiterated a few times that she thinks that she is still, at her core, the same person she was when she wrote the songs that the world loves. In her words, she wants to stay "emotional, sensitive, and caring" — the way she was when she was younger.